This report provides a rationale for making inquiry-oriented discussions a more integral part of classroom practice. It begins by identifying five features that make this type distinct from other types of discussion--focusing especially on the use of multiple texts. Then, the heart of the report explains the concepts and practices that are central…

Curricular methods and materials on population that should be used by all educators, not just population educators, enable students to learn how to make responsible decisions affecting themselves, their families, and their communities. (Author/JH)

In-depth investigations of individuals or groups, for instance, Harry Truman, Martin Luther King, Jr., or American Indians, provide stimulating teaching material to help youngsters move to higher levels of moral reasoning. (JH)

Arguing that the concept of causality in human experience is archaic, unnecessary, and misleading, particularly in the social/behavioral sciences, a new plausibility approach is proposed for understanding relationships among entities. The epistemological history of causality includes positivist, deductive-nomological, essentialist, activity or…

Briefly describes some elementary school science programs which resulted from curriculum reform efforts in the United States: Science-A Process Approach, Science Curriculum Improvement Study, Elementary Science Study, and Experiences in Science. (PEB)

In response to assumptions that inquiry processes and methodology will best develop a student's cognitive skills, seven questions are posed to highlight key points that inquiry oriented curriculum materials must provide. (JH)

The Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS) at the University of California at San Diego sponsors a workshop that teaches tutors to use five types of probing skills. The use of the skills is fundamental to the student learner's acquisition of complex relationships and problem solving skills. The five types of probes are:…

Process, not facts; objective analysis and evaluation, not emotional and uncritical patriotism: these are the emphases of the new social studies and history materials. Curriculum designers of the 1950's reflected that decade's belief that there is a nature to things and that the discipline learned while using inquiry methods helps students become…

This study investigates the success of preservice elementary social studies teachers in acquiring effective questioning skills using a self-instructional Competency-Based Teacher Education (CBTE) module and tests the possible relationship between a teacher personality variable and a measure of their questioning ability. The subjects were divided…

Three domains of problems are the subject of this report: problems related to the nature of the Inquiry Role Approach (IRA) project implementation in field test classrooms, problems related to student performance associated with different kinds of extent of project implementation, and problems related to project student performance within the…

This report is a continuation of the studies of Explorations in Biology (EIB) Topics 1-8, a series of tests of the inquiry skills of secondary school biology students developed by the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL). In the period covered, two topics were completed and administered (for the first time) to samples of the…